alandsim
Lairian
- Joined
- Mar 14, 2019
- Messages
- 234
- Points
- 81
...or so we have been calling it in my house. I posted yesterday about getting a 3-year-old don sphynx Sim when I have a 2-year-old husky Jo. Thank you all so much for the warm welcome!
I am going to post my detailed game plan here and I welcome any feedback, especially things I may have overlooked due to inexperience. These are my first pets as adults (and anyone else like me have parents that were awfully laissez faire when it came to their pets?) so I’m a blank slate! I am so sorry it’s about to be so long!
Everyone in the house is on board, I made sure to explain to my partner, who is not used to cats, that she is going to have to help me implement this. The cat was my idea, it is my responsibility to make sure all animals can get their needs met, but everybody in the house has to be on the same page!
Whew! So:
My house is two stories. Downstairs we have a room that was listed as a bedroom, but is awkwardly placed two paces away from the front door. It has lovely french doors leading into it and an en suite bathroom that happens to not have a door and is currently sectioned off with a curtain. It is pretty bare right now because we have to collect some more furniture! We think of it as a sitting room and will make it a guest bedroom when we can get a futon or pull out couch.
Phase 1- One week or longer if I see signs of stress!
Phase 2- One week or longer until they are bored to sleep at the sight of each other
All of the above and we will set aside planned periods of time once or more a day for them to be able to see each other but not touch each other in one of two ways.
FOREVER-
When we leave the house I will have them separated for my own peace of mind.
When they’re not separated I will make sure Sim always has an escape route.
Jury’s still out on whether or not we will sleep with both of them in the master bedroom or not, it totally depends on partner’s allergies, but if we do we will make sure there’s a tall object she can reach but he can’t and rely on them to wake us up with noise if anything’s amiss. Housemate has volunteered to sleep with Sim if we don’t.
I also have both Feliway and the canine equivalent of faux pheromones in a spray which are supposed to be calming. I am not sure what the most effective way to use them would be. Should I let Jo smell the Feliway before Sim arrives so he gets used to cat pheromone smell? Would putting a Feliway bandanna on my dog make Sim like him? Anyone have experience or suggestions for these for this purpose? I am thinking at least I can utilize these if either animal appears to be in distress for any reason due to the lifestyle change of sharing our house.
THANK YOU if you read this far! Do you see any red flags in my plan that you wouldn’t do if you were me or can you think of anything else for me to try?
I am going to post my detailed game plan here and I welcome any feedback, especially things I may have overlooked due to inexperience. These are my first pets as adults (and anyone else like me have parents that were awfully laissez faire when it came to their pets?) so I’m a blank slate! I am so sorry it’s about to be so long!
Everyone in the house is on board, I made sure to explain to my partner, who is not used to cats, that she is going to have to help me implement this. The cat was my idea, it is my responsibility to make sure all animals can get their needs met, but everybody in the house has to be on the same page!
Whew! So:
My house is two stories. Downstairs we have a room that was listed as a bedroom, but is awkwardly placed two paces away from the front door. It has lovely french doors leading into it and an en suite bathroom that happens to not have a door and is currently sectioned off with a curtain. It is pretty bare right now because we have to collect some more furniture! We think of it as a sitting room and will make it a guest bedroom when we can get a futon or pull out couch.
Phase 1- One week or longer if I see signs of stress!
This room is basically where Sim will live with the door closed. I’ll have her food dishes, toys, wall-mounted cat tree and some odd comfy chairs placed near the windows for lounging. Litter box in the bathroom. Nothing around that she can hurt herself with.
I am driving to get Sim next Sunday with my housemate, who is as excited as I am to have a feline in the house. We’ll probably get home well into the evening so I’m just going to give her the tour and then go to bed. I’ll sleep down there with her on an air mattress or maybe we’ll throw a couch in there temporarily. I’m prepared for her to keep to herself until she gets the lay of the land.
During this phase the only exposure the animals will have to each other is swapping scents. During the week we both work, so when we’re out of the house Jo will be in our master bedroom upstairs by himself (“watching TV” out the window and napping like he always is).
I’m literally thinking of rubbing a bandanna on Sim and tying it around Jo’s neck for him to wear. Also petting him and reinforcing him verbally while he’s sniffing any cat smell thing. Obviously not going to rub her smell on any chewable toys, and not going to reinforce with treats lest he associate her smell with food! We’re also going to exercise Jo outside more than usual (extra trips to the dog park) to make sure he’s happy AND in a weakened tired state so that he’s easier to train, bwahahaha!
The whole house probably smells like Jo, but I will make sure there’s blankets or towels that smell like him, and same thing. Positively reinforce any calm behavior around the smell. Maybe give Sim treats for going and laying on a blanket, etc.
We might introduce Sim to the rest of the house when Jo is outside just to let her get the lay of the land.
Phase 2- One week or longer until they are bored to sleep at the sight of each other
All of the above and we will set aside planned periods of time once or more a day for them to be able to see each other but not touch each other in one of two ways.
Option 1
We can remove the curtain from the french doors while Sim is in her room and Jo is outside it, with one human on either side. Humans’ jobs are to distract pets with treats. We’ll give each animal a high value treat right away (chicken for Jo, tuna for Sim) and then wait for them to notice each other.
Jo is rewarded with small treats and praise for being calm and quiet. We are prepared for him to scream like a banshee because he wants to get to where the cat is (unlikely but it’s what he does when we’re at the dog park and he wants to get in) in which case we’ll close the curtain and take him outside to distract him. If needed we’ll put him up in the room.
Sim is rewarded with small treats for approaching Jo at all, calm body language. We’re prepared for Sim to run to a safe space like the bathroom or up in the cat tree in which case we’ll just focus on the dog.
Option 2
We can put Jo in his crate with a Kong and let Sim roam free. Reward her for going anywhere near him. Reward him for being calm if he notices her.
Phase 3- As long as it takes!Put Jojo on a leash, give him a high value treat and let Sim roam free. Reward him for being calm and not pulling towards her. Reward her for going anywhere near him. If he’s pulling towards her too much, time for a walk or to go outside until she’s back in her Sim cave!
Eventually transition Jo to a retractable leash.
ONLY let the two of them together off leash when they are both reliably calm and unbothered by each other.
FOREVER-
When we leave the house I will have them separated for my own peace of mind.
When they’re not separated I will make sure Sim always has an escape route.
Jury’s still out on whether or not we will sleep with both of them in the master bedroom or not, it totally depends on partner’s allergies, but if we do we will make sure there’s a tall object she can reach but he can’t and rely on them to wake us up with noise if anything’s amiss. Housemate has volunteered to sleep with Sim if we don’t.
I also have both Feliway and the canine equivalent of faux pheromones in a spray which are supposed to be calming. I am not sure what the most effective way to use them would be. Should I let Jo smell the Feliway before Sim arrives so he gets used to cat pheromone smell? Would putting a Feliway bandanna on my dog make Sim like him? Anyone have experience or suggestions for these for this purpose? I am thinking at least I can utilize these if either animal appears to be in distress for any reason due to the lifestyle change of sharing our house.
THANK YOU if you read this far! Do you see any red flags in my plan that you wouldn’t do if you were me or can you think of anything else for me to try?